6 Key Responsibilities of a World-Class vCIO

6 Key Responsibilities of a World-Class vCIO

Is Your IT A Smooth Ride in the Fastlane or Mostly Gridlock? Does the dialogue inside your head ever sound like this? Okay, why is this stupid machine updating now? Great, it’s locked up and I’ve got a Teams call in five minutes. No, it’s restarting. I’ve got zero time for this. So much for working from home and getting …

How Much Do Managed IT Services Cost?

How Much Do Managed IT Services Cost? (Factors & Price Ranges)

Managed IT Services PRICING The cost of Managed IT Services can vary widely. Fees range between R100.00 to R250.00 per user per month. Factors that affect cost are headcount, the size and sophistication of your IT systems, and whether you outsource some or all of the technology management functions. Your average 50-person firm can expect to pay around R5,000.00-R12,500.00 per month for fully managed …

MSPs-Financial-Services

MSPs & Financial Services

I recently heard a buddy of mine do a presentation about his financial planning practice and was taken aback by the similarities between his ideal client profile and ours. Like a lot of boutique, fixed-fee money managers, my colleague has an asset minimum of R1,000,000 but has occasionally worked with individuals who have less. Why not? He’s a pleasant, optimistic …

Is MSP Consolidation Negatively Impacting Your Business?

Is MSP Consolidation Negatively Impacting Your Business?

Mergers and acquisitions mostly fuelled by private equity and venture capital are driving consolidation of Managed Services Providers or “MSP’s.” This is common in maturing markets as services become more standardized and owners either choose to cash out or merge with regional or national players. A lot of Johannesburg based IT providers have been sold recently which has created disruption …

Does Your IT Provider Help You Implement Strategy

Does Your IT Provider Help You Implement Strategy?

Non-profits are vital to thriving communities. Big cities, small towns, and neighbourhoods depend upon non-profits to provide much-needed services to residents. And, like their for-profit counterparts, non-profit organizations face big challenges when it comes to how they operate and how successful they are. The Council of Non-profits lists implementing strategy as one of the top five issues non-profits deal with today. …

A Path to Great Technology for Nonprofits

A Path to Great Technology for Nonprofits

Nonprofit organizations face many challenges when it comes to technology including restricted budgets and limited in-house IT resources. This makes it difficult to own, implement, manage and leverage mission-critical technology. Gartner Group reports that businesses spend an average of 2.3% of annual revenues on IT. Regardless of whether your tech budget is higher or lower than 2.3%, it’s important to …

The Real Solution to Downtime and Costly IT Repairs

The Real Solution to Downtime and Costly IT Repairs

Natural disasters and even mistakes by employees can bring your operations to a halt. No matter the reason, this downtime disrupts operations and reduces your profit. Even if your systems are up 99.99% of the time, that’s still more than a full day’s work over the course of a year. Technology should not dictate your productivity. Take control of the situation with a more …

MSP Evaluation Guidelines For SMBs

MSP Evaluation Guidelines For SMBs

Many small and mid-sized businesses waste valuable time and money interviewing multiple Managed Services Providers (MSPs) without a strategy or budget in place. This puts way too much faith in the hope of formulating a plan after reviewing 5-10 different proposals from organizations not likely to be in the same service class. National IT providers are different from regional providers, …

Here’s Why the Dark Web Matters

Here’s Why the Dark Web Matters

Most of the civilized world is on the Internet every day – businesses large and small, governments, educators, adults, children and, unfortunately, criminals. The Internet may seem like a world without boundaries allowing us to find just about any kind of information, learn about other cultures, conduct business across the globe and even socialize with family and friends. Like many …